About This Coffee
Patrick Kamau Njoroge’s small farm, Pacika, is located in Kiambu – one of Kenya’s most well-known coffee growing regions. At altitudes ranging up to 1,800 meters above sea level, Pacika is perfectly situated for growing high quality coffee.
Patrick has chosen to work with Sucafina/Kahawa Bora because of the range of agricultural services they provide. He receives regular training from field agronomists in Good Agricultural Practices, including fertilizer application, pruning guidance and renovation advice, which helps him to keep his small farm in optimal condition.
Cultivation
Kiambu county has deep red volcanic soils, rich in organic matter and perfect for coffee farming.
Patrick makes the most of this. He cultivates ‘traditional’ SL34 and SL28 coffee trees and works his farm with a keen eye to detail. The ‘SL’ varieties were cultivars originally released by Scott Agricultural Laboratories (SAL) in the 1930s and 1940s. They soon became the go-to trees for many growers in Kenya due to their deep root structure, which allows them to maximize scarce water resources and flourish even without irrigation.
Harvest & Post-Harvest
Pacika is categorized as a ‘small estate’ in Kenya. Traditionally, many farmers of this size in the country did not own their own processing equipment. They have historically delivered cherry to a centralized cooperative-owned ‘Factory’ (as washing stations are called, locally), where their production is combined with that of others from their region. Patrick, however, operates his own wet-mill, located on the farm, where he is able to process his own coffee, ensuring full traceability.
Cherry is selectively handpicked and then pulped. Coffee is dry fermented for 12 to 22 hours and washed in clean water to remove any remaining mucilage. Parchment is soaked for 13 hours and then transferred to raised beds where it sundries for 14 to 21 days. As it dries, parchment is turned regularly to ensure even drying.
Another benefit to working with Kahawa Bora, for Patrick, is their separate microlot milling line that was custom made to hull (remove the parchment from the green coffee beans) lots as small as one bag at a time. The dry-milling set-up within Kenya does not traditionally well serve small-to-medium size farmers. Many dry mills have lot minimums, which are usually about 50 bags of parchment per lot. This is often unattainable for smaller farmers, necessitating that they merge their lots with others, losing traceability, which in turn which lowers their overall returns and removes potential for name recognition and direct-trade relationship.
Kahawa Bora’s microlot milling line makes it possible for growers like Patrick to maintain their own ‘brand’ when selling their coffee.
AA Grade
Kenyan coffees are classified by size. AA beans are the largest size. AA grade coffees are those that are 17/18 screen size, meaning that they are larger than 7.2 millimeters.
About Kiambu
Kiambu is right outside Kenya’s capital city of Nairobi but is nonetheless known for agriculture – specifically coffee and tea. The county is also home of the Kenyan Coffee Research Foundation.
Kiambu County is also well known for its dairy production, and is the largest dairy producing county in Kenya. Many of the growers here adhere to organic fertilizing practices, using only cow manure instead of agrochemicals on their coffee trees.
Farmers in Kiambu face low production due to pests and disease while simultaneously having to pay high prices for inputs. In recent years, many have felt the strain and have sold their land to real-estate developers looking to build on the edge of Nairobi.
Coffee in Kenya
Though coffee growing had a relatively late start in Kenya, the industry has gained and maintained a impressive reputation. Since the start of production, Kenyan coffee has been recognized for its high-quality, meticulous preparation and exquisite flavors. Our in-country sister company, Sucafina Kenya, works with farmers across the country to ensure these exceptional coffees gain the accolades they deserve.
Today, more than 600,000 smallholders farming fewer than 5 acres compose 99% of the coffee farming population of Kenya. Their farms cover more than 75% of total coffee growing land and produce nearly 70% of the country’s coffee. These farmers are organized into hundreds of Farmer Cooperative Societies (FCS), all of which operate at least one factory. The remainder of annual production is grown and processed by small, medium and large land estates. Most of the larger estates have their own washing stations.
Most Kenyan coffees are fully washed and dried on raised beds. The country still upholds its reputation for high quality and attention to detail at its many washing stations. The best factories employ stringent sorting practices at cherry intake, and many of them have had the same management staff in place for years.